It’s Deadpool Vs. The Avengers Vs. Han Solo At The Movies This May

Good news, Deadpool fans: Deadpool 2 is being released sooner than you think. Two weeks sooner, to be exact. It’s been bumped up two weeks ahead of schedule, from June 1 to May 18, 2018, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The move is a strategic one for Fox; now the anticipated sequel can safely avoid going toe to toe with Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon at the box office, as Solo: A Star Wars Story is set to hit theaters on May 25. Of course this also means the month of May is seriously stacked with massive releases, kicking off with Avengers: Infinity War on May 4. So, all three films will be vying for the top spot at the box office this May.

Infinity War will easily reign supreme those first two weekends, which opens the door for Deadpool 2 to dominate its opening weekend. Since the first film blew past box-office expectations to become the highest-grossing R-rated flick of all time, expect its sequel to have a similar effect on moviegoers in need of a good (raunchy) laugh. Surprisingly, it’s Solo that might take the biggest hit from Fox’s switcheroo. After parting ways with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller months into filming — with Ron Howard taking the reins shortly after to oversee reshoots — Solo hasn’t had the best buzz. Not to mention, it’s the only film in this bunch that has yet to release a trailer or any footage for that matter.

Anyway, this move is a good vote of confidence for Ryan Reynolds and the Deadpool franchise.

20th Century Fox

In addition to moving Deadpool 2 up, Fox is reportedly also pushing its X-Men spin-off New Mutants, starring Game of Thrones‘ Maisie Williams and Stranger Things‘ Charlie Heaton, back another 10 months. The teen-centric horror film is now slated for release on February 22, 2019, instead of April 2018. (Reportedly, Fox is beefing up the horror elements of the film given the record-breaking box-office success of It.) The long-troubledGambit film starring Channing Tatum has also been bumped (again), from February 2019 to June 7, 2019.